Philip 'Phil' Bell (born 1968) works for the Pegorino Family in Alderney; primarily he runs their front operations, but is also involved in some wetwork -- he accompanies Niko Bellic on three violent missions for the Pegorinos.

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Biography

Phil maintains that he is a legitimate businessman, managing construction yards and the Pegorino-owned Honker's Gentlemen's Club based in Tudor. The authorities have his places of business bugged, so he speaks in generalities which will not implicate him in anything, and is especially cautious with his planning; his caution often puts him at odds with capo Ray Boccino, who is far more cavalier. Although Don Jimmy Pegorino says Phil is his best associate, he also notes that Bell is mostly Irish by blood, and as such, promoting him within the Pegorino gang would lower their standing with the Five Families of the Commission. Phil may be having an affair with Pegorino's wife, Angie; Ray has expressed his concerns to Pegorino, but Jimmy puts little stock in Ray's opinion, and doesn't believe the rumours. So low is his opinion of Ray, in fact (and so high his opinion of Phil), that when a scare leads Pegorino to liquidate any possible snitches, he chooses to whack Ray, his caporegime, and not Phil, who, like Niko, is merely an associate of the organization.

Phil is divorced, and is very bitter at his ex-wife, who won full custody of their children.

At one point, Phil has a conversation with Niko which reflects the themes of hard decisions and the morality of following orders which recur throughout GTA IV. Niko's experience has led him to question orders he considers immoral, even if he does go through with most of them; Phil, on the other hand, strongly believes in following orders to the letter, to the point of abdicating responsibility.

Ending

Spoiler Warning:Plot and/or ending details are in the text which follows.

If the player chooses the "Revenge" storyline near the end of the game, the Pegorino crime family is dealt a serious blow, and so Phil decides to leave the dying organization. In spite of this, he tells Niko that killing Dimitri Rascalov was the right decision. If the player chooses the "Deal" storyline, Phil will accompany Niko on the way to the heroin deal; it turns out that Dimitri has killed the buyer, so the two decide to steal the money, engaging its guardians in a lengthy gun battle. After getting the money, both of them decide that they are out of the crime business for good.